Willows and Service
by FlourTheCat
Summary: Drabbles/Short Stories focusing on Yamamoto and Sasakibe. Past and Present. Spoilers. T for safety. Requests accepted. No sexual themes. Possible violence and/or cursing. Image credit: BLEACH anime.
1. First Meeting

In all honesty, Yamamoto didn't know what to make of the man that randomly appeared on the property of Genji School. He had just shown up one day, bowing respectfully at first, before staring at Yamamoto as if he wasn't a man that could easily turn anyone lesser into ash.

"What are you doing here?!" Yamamoto boomed; the sheer volume of his voice generally enough to send anyone scurrying away. Unfortunately, there was no such luck with this man. He appeared frazzled at first, flipping to a standing position and blocking his face with his arms, though it seemed as though it was more from being startled than any true fear.

"After hearing of your amazing battle record and ability, I knew I had to come and meet you in person!" The boy had returned to the bowing position before initiating in speech. He also had a loud voice that was belying his size.

Yamamoto paused, a look of disapproval on his face. He was _not _some celebrity to be met on a whim. He released a bit of spiritual pressure, intent on chasing away the audacious man. "Can you not read?!" He pointed at the gates—the man must have scaled them, as they were still securely shut. "This is not a playground for you to loiter in, boy!"

All the man did was turn his head and glance over at the gate, a mild sweat drop forming for all the wrong reasons.

"LEAVE!" Yamamoto decided to just be blunt, as the man was obviously not catching the hint.

With a scramble of movement, the man was on his feet and heading towards the gate. A few timed leaps got him successfully over and on the other side, where he disappeared into the neighboring region with a rather good flash step.

"Good riddance...," Yamamoto growled as he returned to his duty.

He never imagined how much of his life the man would come to be.

I do not own Bleach.

Though it was obvious, this was their first meeting. If anyone cares, Sasakibe is just called 'the man' or 'the boy' because Yamamoto doesn't really care who he is or what his name is at the moment.

Hopefully, this series will get a bit more attention from me than my others, considering I actually like the characters.

Have a request involving these two? Let me know, and I'll see what I'll do.


	2. Fire

"Yamamoto-dono!"

Yamamoto twitched ever so slightly, not that he'd admit it. The man's visits have been occurring for above a week now, and he was really beginning to get on Yamamoto's nerves. It was infuriating, seeing as the man refused to be deterred by everything Yamamoto tried; he was about to use Ryūjin Jakka on the boy. If it wasn't for the reputation of his school—couldn't have rumors of him frying his visitors, could he? He ruled with an iron fist and had to instill fear in his students, but that would probably be a bit too much fear—he probably would have done so already. Despite thinking about how satisfying catching the boy on fire would be, he settled with a solid glare that he rested firmly on the young man. "What do you want, boy?!"

The man was bowing, but he looked up and met the glare head on with amusement and a slight smile. "Is there something wrong with visiting?" He cocked his head slightly to the side, the tone a lot quieter and more befitting of his size than it was in their first meeting.

"Yes!" Yamamoto boomed, a slight pause revealing that silence had stretched through the area. "This is private territory! You are not permitted to be here!" The rising infliction ended with a sharp cut that left an audible difference in the environment around them. Everything seemed to pause to make way for the loud authority that was Yamamoto Shigekuni.

Everything except the man, who just continued to stare at Yamamoto with that partial smile and bright eyes. At some point, he had moved to a sitting/kneeling position. He calmly replied, completely unbothered by the outburst. "Is this not a public school?"

"Enroll! Then you would have a claim to the school being 'public'! Even if it is public, you are still trespassing!" Yamamoto didn't realize until after he already spoke that he in no way wanted the insolent boy enrolling in his school. It was bad enough dealing with him daily; he didn't want to even think about dealing with him constantly.

Thankfully, the boy declined the offer, "I'd rather not. I'd rather be on my own."

"Then why are you here bothering me?!"

He shrugged, apparently not having a good answer for the question.

"BE GONE!" Yamamoto roared, his patience, which admittedly lasted rather long this time, hitting his limit. Without even thinking about it, he drew his sword and released a short burst of fire at the boy.

The boy reacted, though not fast enough. By the time he had leaped up, the flames had engulfed and set him on fire. He fled the grounds with a yip, not even pausing to get the flames off.

Yamamoto turned around, content. The flames had surely caused some damage to the boy; not enough to deter any inspiring men to join his school but enough to make an example of what happened to those who demonstrated insubordination.

"Yamamoto-dono," a boy spoke quietly, waiting for acknowledgement to proceed. This was how a boy was _supposed _to speak to him, Yamamoto thought harshly. He turned with a slight grunt acting as a signal to continue. "Wasn't that a bit harsh…?" Yamamoto identified the boy as an Ukitake lad, though he hadn't the time to remember given names. Though approaching Yamamoto personally was a bit arrogant, the boy had a sense of right and wrong, which Yamamoto supposed was respectable.

A humph was Yamamoto's reply, followed by a few curt words, "Good for him. If that's enough to scare him off, then he really is worthless." Despite the cruel tone, his words seemed to imply some interest in the visitor, even if he himself refused to acknowledge it. He walked away, leaving the Ukitake boy hanging rather awkwardly.

* * *

For a few days, Yamamoto thought it worked. There was no sign of his visitor. However, he experienced something he didn't foresee. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about the lack of the boy. It was almost as if Yamamoto expected the boy to be there, as irritating as he was, and the disruption of the schedule was even more irritating.

Yamamoto couldn't quite understand it. He refused to even think about the idea that he perhaps grown to enjoy the boy's presence in any way. At the most, he perhaps acted as a stress relief, allowing Yamamoto to yell as much as he wanted without showing any signs of intimidation or fear. Perhaps he saw it as a challenge, seeing as most people bent to his will without resistance, and the boy was interesting in the way that he refused to do so.

Whatever it was, he realized that there was a chance the man wouldn't be too entirely bothersome.

If he came back, that is.

Was there a tang of regret there? No, Yamamoto lived life at a fast pace, making quick choices and not looking back. Regret was not something he acknowledged. Even if it was, there was no way the short attack should have succeeded in scaring the boy away. As he told Ukitake, if it did, he really was worthless. Yamamoto couldn't imagine that, though. He hadn't even released shikai—doing so wouldn't have even left ash of the boy—it was a weak attack through a sealed blade. Yamamoto may be a bit disappointed if that was all it would take to chase him away, but he wouldn't regret it.

* * *

He ended up needing not to worry about it, as the boy returned the day after his monologue. He seemed to be mostly healed, saved for a few bandages that Yamamoto's astute eyes caught, even as he shifted to hide them from sight.

"You show up here again?!" Yamamoto yells, though he realizes he's really not that angry. Yelling at the man just seemed more natural than anything. Even so, he takes on a more arrogant tone coupled with a slightly malevolent grin as he says, "I thought that would have finally understood that you're not welcome here."

He smiles, as if hearing some unsaid praise in Yamamoto's statement. Perhaps not getting yelled at was an equivalent of praise when one takes into account that Yamamoto was the one speaking. "Even _I'm _not stupid enough to bother you while injured."

At the phrase, Yamamoto looked over the boy once more. He realized that despite the damage to the boy being mostly healed, the Shihakushō still appeared to be damaged and burned. Actually, in that vein of thought, this boy wasn't any nobility that Yamamoto recognized nor was he enrolled in the school, so… "Where did you get that uniform, boy?"

The boy finally took a look other than tranquility or brief shock. A look of panic crossed his features as he leaned away from Yamamoto's pointed gaze. "I think I'm going to go now—goodbye!" With the jumbled phrase that almost came out as a single word, the boy fled off of the property, almost with as much speed as when he was ablaze. Yamamoto glanced after him, fleetingly wondering whether that was a sore topic with the boy or if setting him on fire had made him more skittish.

* * *

Not too much to say this time around. A bit longer. Let me know your thoughts about their characterizations/any OOC that you may pick up on. Just try to keep in mind that this is the past, and what you may see as OOC may be justified in my mind.


End file.
